A Winner Is Two: Black Mamba
by Kohaku Kawa
Summary: Beatrix Kiddo from Kill Bill fights in the latest tournament hosted by avatarjk137. This will probably be gory.
1. Arrival

**This is written for the "A Survivalist Is You Tournament" hosted by Avatarjk137. Check it out by going to his profile, his tournaments are really fun.**

**I do not own any of the characters in these chapters. Beatrix Kiddo aka Black Mamba aka The Bride belongs to Quintin Tarentino and the rest of the characters belong to many different creators and universes. **

Introduction: Separation

She slowly became aware of lying face down in hot, salty sand. The back of her exposed neck was tight with sunburn; her mouth was dry and full of grit. She blinked and coughed, looking around the beach for signs of other humans.

Then memory returned, and with it came a wrathful scream. She scrambled to her feet and ready to fight, but the attackers from last night were gone. Next she searched for any signs that B.B. had also been left on the beach and where she might have gone.

. . . . . . . . . .

"Mommy, what's wrong?" B.B. had asked her as she read the BORED invitation.

She realized her face showed her worry and forced a cheerful grin to replace it. "Nothing Baby." She said. "How'd you like to take a road trip?"

"Tomorrow?" B.B. asked.

"Nah, let's go right now." She said, picking up a coat, her sword, and B.B.'s favorite toy gun. "Come on sweetie."

B.B. slipped off her chair and followed. "Don't we need suitcases?"

"We'll buy what we need on the way. Come on honey." She helped her daughter into the car, buckled her in and hurried to the driver's side. She worried about closing her door after the car started out of the driveway.

Late that night she had collapsed onto the hotel bed with B.B. wrapped in one arm and her Katana in the other. She slept fitfully and jolted awake at small sounds. A few hours before dawn, she finally fell into a deep sleep.

She didn't hear the hissing gas until B.B. shook her awake asking what the sound was. However, once awake she immediately knew the location of all three intruders in the room. The gas was starting to affect her but she pushed B.B. to the floor and jumped off the bed towards the closest attacker, drawing her sword and striking before she hit the ground. The man yelled in pain bringing the other two rushing at her. She swung around to face them, but the gas was affecting her more and she tripped. One man grabbed her sword and another slammed something into the back of her head.

. . . . . . . . . .

A man stood at the edge of the trees at the beach's end. As she drew closer she realized that he held her sword. He was also watching her, ambush wasn't an option. Unless she was the one about to be ambushed . . . she pushed the thought away as she kept walking. She needed information.

The thug didn't move until she was just outside of striking range. Then he stepped forward a couple paces and said, "Beatrix Kiddo, by invitation of the BORED organization you are here to fight in the Survival Tournament. As stated in your invitation, the last contestant standing will be declared the winner. Good luck." He then threw the katana to her and turned to the jungle.

"Wait." She said sharply. "Where is B.B.? Where is the girl I was with?"

The man turned back. "Our orders were to bring you here. Anyone else was left at the hotel." Then he continued walking.

"It's fortunate you didn't hurt my baby girl." She said, her voice thick with anger, "Your punishment for taking me from her will be swift."

As the man stopped she plunged the Hattori Hanzo Katana into his back. The thug twitched briefly and fell. She pulled the katana out and started into the forest.

"Don't worry baby," She said quietly, "I'll be home soon."

**[A/N] I used "she" to try and recreate the feeling of the Kill Bill movies where The Bride is largely nameless. Anyone have thoughts on this?  
I will use her name or codename some in the upcoming chapters since they'll be much longer.**

**Good luck to my future opponents!**


	2. the joker

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. This fight's opponent is brought to you by DC comics. **

**[A/N] Check out jjp55's profile for this story from the Joker's pov!**

The Joker

Black Mamba hurried toward the twin mountain peaks and the distant promise of home. She'd managed to avoid most of the other contestants so far by staying off any trails and keeping a wide berth between her and the many explosions she'd seen.

She was traveling through a thick jungle of giant trees and mossy boulders rising out of the ground like ancient, slumbering monsters. Black Mamba had to constantly move branches and vines out of her way. As she pushed aside one large branch she saw a towering, black, spiny creature only a few feet from her. She stifled a cry and quickly moved away. She hurried in the opposite direction, checking every other second whether she was being pursued.

She let herself get distracted and didn't notice the man stepping out of the bushes until she almost ran into him. She stopped short in front of him and quickly looked him over. The man had painted his face in a grotesque resemblance of a clown with a red smile painted over long scars that extended his lips into a weird smile.

"Oh, excuse me," He said, smoothing back his stringy, green hair, "I'm The Joker." He extended his hand.

"Black Mamba." She replied, not returning the gesture.

"That is one of my favorite snakes." He said. The dark black circles around his eyes made him hard to read.

She shifted to a more grounded stance, "Listen, if you want a fight I'll take you down, but I strongly suggest you walk away." She said.

"Tsk, that doesn't seem very exciting." He said and pulled out a knife. "Let's play a bit."

He came forward and swiped the knife at her so she had to Retreat quickly. She drew her own knife and deflected the next attack. He kicked at her but she jumped to the side and kicked to his kidneys. He braced himself against a tree ad pushed off to strike at her again. As she stepped out of his path he changed direction and was behind her.

"Ooh, this looks dangerous." He said. Black Mamba's Hattori Hanzo sword rang in the air as she spun to face him.

Her sword balanced clumsily in the Joker's hand as he slid his knife into his belt. "Get your hands off my sword!" She said as she charged forward with her own knife. The Joker gripped the hilt of the katana with both hands and chopped down at her arm. She blocked the blade against her own and pushed it to the side. The clown swung the sword back under and it cut her leg.

Black Mamba clenched her teeth and thrust her knife into his arm. He yelped and brought the sword up to cut her arm. She let go of the knife and grabbed the hilt of the sword as it came up. They both held on, struggling for control of the sword. Black Mamba jammed her heel into the top of The Joker's foot and he let go then she pulled the sword back over her head, her body turned to the side in preparation for the next attack. The Joker pulled her knife from his arm, angrily muttering, and threw it at a tree.

She moved quickly and thrust the sword forward; he dodged so it only cut his coat. He brought the knife down towards her head. She ducked low and swung her leg around, knocking him over. He turned into a roll and found his feet quickly.

"You're a feisty one." He said, licking his lips. "I think I'm feeling some fireworks."

He pulled something from his coat and threw it on the ground in front of her. There was a bright flash and she was knocked to the ground, unable to see anything. He kicked Black Mamba hard in the side and she swung her katana at him. Her blade dug deep into something too hard to be flesh. He cackled as she tried to pull her sword free from the tree.

She heard his footsteps approaching and abandoned the katana to get away. Her visions returned slowly and she saw the Joker ahead of her, knife ready. Black Mamba turned sharply and the ground disappeared beneath her feet. She slid down a steep embankment, groping at weeds and bushes as she rolled before she managed to grab a low tree branch.

The ground was more level here, so she was able to feel her way to a boulder and edge around it. She heard the Joker coming down the slope, crashing through the brush. She tried to focus and make a plan, but could not imagine what the psychotic man would do next.

Her sight had mostly returned now and she pressed her back against the rock craning her neck to see if the clown was anywhere in sight. A shadow moved though the trees on the right, but it was just an animal. She felt a tapping on her shoulder and whirled to her feet. The Joker shoved her back and stuck a knife in her mouth, playing it lightly against the inside of her cheek.

"Hello Blondie." He said quietly, "Were you looking for me?" Black Mamba's eyes were wide. "Shh, shh, don't be scared. Do you know how I got these scars? I once had a beautiful wife and a perfect little girl." The metallic tastes of her blood and the knife mixed warmly on her tongue. "One day, I turn my back on her for a second and the shelf of toys…" He paused, and then went on excitedly, "It falls on her! All that's left is her small leg sticking out in a pool of blood. Now!" He suddenly became serious, "My wife rushes in and… she isn't happy. Heheh no, not at all. 'Stop crying! Stop frowning!' she screams. 'This is _your_ fault, _you're_ not allowed to be upset.'" He drew the word out and cocked his head to a new angle, licking his lips. "She takes the kitchen knife and carves this into my face -and now, I'm always smiling! Ha!"

Black Mamba barely caught the blade as he sliced into her cheek, the knife cut deep into her hand instead of through her mouth. She kicked him away into a tree and shakily found her balance. "You know," She grimaced and spat blood as the Joker found his footing. "If you'd killed my baby girl, I would've sliced your neck open instead of your face."

"_This_ is what I enjoy." The Joker said, his face paint was streaked from his sweat, "Getting to know people. What happens when you're faced with a knife," He shook the blade in front of his face wildly, "You show your true self." He held his hands up, "You though, are a fighter. I'm sure you've faced a knife many times before. Yes. You use a knife too, or that big sword, but you know the way to fight! There is something so impersonal about gun fights; just Bang! Bang! Bang! at each other until someone dies. Where- Where's the fun in that?"

"Joker, you're in my way." She shifted into tiger crane position. "I don't care what your motives are. You and I have unfinished business."

"Ooh." The Joker smirked and semi crouched into a fighting stance. "Come on!" He said jerking the knife.

She rushed forward and palm-struck him on the arm followed with a kick at his head. The Joker shook his arm as he dodged the kick and then slashed forward with his knife. She threw her momentum back so she fell under his swipe, and hit him with a double kick on his leg.

While he was forced a step back she swung her legs around and was on her feet in time to redirect the next attack. He rushed at her and she pushed the Joker further past her with a palm strike between the shoulders following that with a flying kick. The Joker stumbled but caught himself and spun back around, his purple coat flared out behind him. He grabbed her leg and swung her into a tree hard enough to crack the bark.

She collapsed to the base of the tree, dully aware of the Joker laughing and rambling. She started to black out and the voice of her teacher, Pai Mei, cut through the pain: "No wonder you can't do it. You acquiesce to defeat before you even begin."

Black Mamba focused her mind and forced herself to break through the distraction of the pain. She saw the Joker's knife ready to strike and barely rolled out of the way. The knife cut into her arm, but she didn't let it slow her. She jumped to her feet, sidestepped behind the Joker, and grabbed the wrist of his knife hand. Roughly, she twisted it straight behind him, locking his wrist so that he lost his grip and dropped the knife.

"Ouch." The Joker said lightly, though he clenched his teeth as she increased the pressure on his wrist, forcing him to the ground.

"Okay," She said, reaching to grab the knife just dropped. "You're going down now."

"I can't wait." The Joker said, tongue flicking between his yellow teeth. "hahaha oh heehee ah ooh haha"

Her fingertips found the hilt and she drove the knife into the back of his neck, the laughing stopped almost immediately but, echoed through the trees. A fountain of blood sprayed her face as she pulled the knife from his severed spine.

She stood and wiped the sweaty grime off her face as she contemplated her battle with the chaotic freak.

**[A/N] I am taking the view point that the Joker is lying when he tells his "how I got these scars" stories for various reasons.**

**The towering, black, spiny creature is the predalien**

**Please leave reviews letting me know what you think. I hope you enjoyed it and good luck to jjp55!**


	3. Surviving

**The last fight went to The Joker, so check out Jjp55's profile to see where this story is picking up from. **

**Intermission 1**

Surviving

She woke, a throbbing rhythm coursing through her brain. At first she thought it was from the rain beating down on every inch of her body, but as soon as she fully regained consciousness she realized how much her psychotic opponent had left her with.

Screaming, white hot pain tore through her head as she opened her mouth. The sticky tissue of her cheeks tearing the frail hold it had re-grown in her hours of blackness, blood pulsed freshly into her mouth. She rolled onto her face, allowing the blood to seep into the soaked earth instead of choking her throat. She clenched her teeth tightly.

The water running through her torn skin felt like new slices of the Joker's blade with every droplet. She lay in the mud for minutes or hours unable to think of anything; only aware of the burning pain and a dull wish to return the black sleep of unconsciousness.

The rain beat down on her harder and harder. Finally the pain receded a fraction and Black Mamba gained a vague awareness of the need to find shelter. Carefully keeping her mouth closed she rose to her knees and looked around. The sky was dark as night, a possibility since she had no idea of the time, and the thickest trees were being whipped around like shredded streamers by the wind. The Lake was now only a few feet from her and riddled with debris.

She placed her hands over her cheeks without actually touching, stood, and shakily made her way to the forest. Nearly at the tree line, she stepped on something and fell as it slid in the mud. Her cheeks seared hotly for a minute but she hadn't jarred them too harshly. She twisted to check her foot. Her shoe was intact but there was a cut across the treads and she found her knife lying on the ground nearby. She closed her eyes in silent thanks for a moment, then wiped it clean and replaced it in her leg holster. Then, once again, she rose and made her way under the cover of the trees.

After a few minutes deliberation she turned she turned toward the direction she thought would take her to the mountain. The chance of falling trees worried her, but she needed to find higher ground and was willing to risk the danger for relief from the rain. The closely knit trees slowed the water's progress enough that it was tolerable on her cheeks, and the winds were also subdued.

. . . . . . .

Half an hour later she was starting to stumble into trees from hunger. She had managed to drink a few handfuls of rain water, though it stung her cheeks, but she desperately needed food. She needed to find a form of protein she could eat without chewing.

Mamba groaned inwardly as she realized what her dinner would be and headed to the nearest rotting log. Pulling the loose bark away she found five large grubs. Once she got past the process of swallowing a wriggling mush, they were greatly satisfying to her gnawingly empty stomach. It was definitely easier to continue trudging through the deep mud once she had some energy to draw on.

After hours of forcing herself to go one more step again and again the ground became rockier and she found a cave. It was empty but judging from the stack of firewood at the back and almost warm embers near the entrance, it wouldn't stay so for long. It took all of her will not to collapse right there. She continued on up the increasingly steep, muddy terrain until she found a smaller, truly empty cave. Still, she didn't allow herself to rest but went back to the first cave, stole some firewood and matches, and quickly returned.

Through her shivering, Black Mamba managed to start a flame and build a fire. She stripped off her soaking clothes and spread them out on the rocks next to the fire, then crouched as close to the fire as she could.

She gingerly felt her raw cheeks with her fingertips. She felt a slice of white pain through her head again but managed to stay upright. She didn't have anything to sew them with, but she had to do something. If she left them alone they would never heal enough for her to fight properly, she wouldn't be able to breathe as steadily, and the collisions of battle would be too much pain to take. If she was going to survive this tournament she needed to close her wounds.

. . . . . . .

Black Mamba lay on her back, now in warm, dry clothes. In her hand she gripped her knife tightly; bits of skin still clung to the fire blackened blade. Melting the skin together had seemed like the best option at the time, the only option aside from natural healing, and her cheeks didn't hurt much more now than they had before, but she still worried about the effects of this healing method.

She forced herself to sit up and clean her blade, then checked her results in the parts of the metal that were still reflective. Craggy scars ran two inches from each corner of her mouth. They were not as grotesque as The Joker's scars, but they definitely caught the eye.

The salty tear stung her skin. Black Mamba impatiently wiped her eyes clear.

"Mommy's not so pretty anymore B.B." She whispered, wincing at the movement of her lips, "but I'm coming back for you, baby."

She looked at the knife blade again, her eyes reflecting the now cold steel, and whispered once more.

"I'm coming."


	4. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang She Shot Me Down

**Disclaimer: This fights opponent is brought to you by Warner Bros. Pictures.**

**[A/N] Visit Yellowfur's profile for her version of this story. **

**Black Mamba vs. Harry Lockhart **

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang She Shot Me Down

It was Fucking hot. Even though the sun was filtered through the thick canopy, the humidity was so bad that Harry felt like he was wading through liquid heat. Moving just a few feet took forever and Harry seemed to be slowly melting into the air. He was achingly aware of his entire body, the aching muscles and growling, empty stomach.

'Meat?' Harry sniffed deeply. 'God, please let that be some meat!' The smoke drifting over definitely smelled of cooking. Harry's empty stomach roared in protest of being so far from the food. He made his way further toward the origin of the smoke and soon could hear the crackling of a fire. Ignoring another indignant roar from his stomach, Harry stopped to think.

Was it worth the risk to go on? Though both the other people he'd met on this island had been as unwilling as he to take part in this craziness, he _had _nearly been killed already. Still, if he was going to survive this he had to eat, and most of the others on the island seemed to be here against their will. He would risk a peak at least, as long as whoever was cooking wasn't some street fighter champ or weirdo monster he had a good chance of getting a meal.

A blonde woman was crouched by the fire with her back to him, wearing a heavily stained Yellow and black jacket and matching pants. She seemed normal enough so Harry stepped from the trees and cleared his throat. Quicker than he could follow, she had turned and leapt to her feet, a large knife clutched in whitened knuckles.

"Woah Lady," Harry said, putting his hands up, but ready to grab his gun all the same, "I was just looking for some food. I don't want to pick a fight."

She narrowed her eyes at him. Harry started as he realized the corners of her mouth melted into grotesquely burned scars up to her ears.

"Oh fuck, I didn't, I mean can-" 'Come on Harry, don't say something insensitive or dumb.' He thought, "can you talk?" Harry mentally face-palmed. "just like that." He muttered to himself.

"I can." She said in a quiet, cold voice. She didn't say more, just watched him for a while. Harry wondered if she could see the sweat dripping down his face. Finally she lowered her knife and waved him over. "Sure, sit down." She said.

"Thanks." Harry said and, seeing nowhere else, sat cross-legged on the ground. The blonde sat on her knees like in kung fu movies and poked at the roasting bird spitted over the fire with her knife, turning it over and moving the sticks in the fire around.

"I'm Harry." He said, awkwardly trying to start a conversation.

"Black Mamba." The woman said, adding nothing more.

"That's an interesting name." Harry said leaning forward and poking the fire absently with a long stick. Black Mamba didn't reply but sat watching the fire. No go, she didn't seem interested in talking.

'Shit, was that offensive?' Harry thought, 'Oh well, it's not like I said it to her. And for all I know she _doesn't _like talking. Who knows how the scars affect her.'

"How did you get those scars?" Harry asked before he could stop himself.

"A madman called The Joker." She told him, and didn't seem angry he had asked, "If you see him I suggest going the opposite way." She tilted her head. "Actually, you should probably be avoiding anyone you come across if you're not ready to fight."

"Yeah," Harry grinned, "but I can't argue with my stomach." He shrugged. "And anyway, the other people I've met have been happy enough to live and let live. I can't imagine there's really anyone out to kill the other here."

The woman shook her head, "Only one person is walking out of this alive, BORED has made that pretty clear. People who refuse to fight will just be killed."

"You weren't killed." Harry pointed out.

"My opponent was not the sanest of men. I think he finds this tournament to be an amusing game."

Harry was silent a bit. "Well fuck, that's . . . just fuck! What's the point of all this?"

"Someone's sick entertainment, I suspect. The only way out is to play along." Mamba said.

"Well if you believed that you couldn't trust anyone and you'd have to kill everyone you . . . oh. Shit."

Black Mamba eyes locked with Harry's and he recognized the look of a snake ready to strike. For one infinite second neither moved. Then Harry grabbed for his gun, fumbled, and dropped it. As he dove to the ground to get it, wind whooshed over his head and a loud thunk sounded in the tree behind him. Sparing it a glance, he saw her knife stuck deep in the wood.

"I'm sorry," Mamba said, "but I need to be the one who walks out of here."

Harry shook his head and raised the gun. "Well now I'm armed and your not, so you might want to walk away while you can."

"I can't do that." She said, shaking her head. "The sooner the tournament is over with, the sooner I get back to my baby girl. You're going to die sooner or later here, so I may as well do the deed and speed this messy affair along."

Harry gritted his teeth and shot his gun, but Black Mamba was already speeding towards him and the bullet missed. She leapt in the air and landed a spinning kick to the side of his head. Lights exploded in front of his eyes as his head smashed into the ground. He tried to get back on his feet but she kicked him again in the side. He managed to roll away before she got a third strike off and by shooting at her he made her back up. He found his feet and shot at her again. The bullet grazed her arm, but she barely flinched.

"Jesus!" Harry cried and shot again. He missed but managed to dodge her palm strike. She was like a swirl of leaves tossed crazily every which way by the wind. Harry could barely realize where she was striking in time to dodge, let alone predict where she would move next. He misjudged her next punch and ran his face into her fist. She grabbed his shirt front and smashed him back against a tree then elbowed his head into the rough bark.

"Fuck." Harry gasped. He jammed his knee into her crotch.

"Dammit." Black Mamba spat and lost her grip.

Harry fired the gun and this time it hit her in the arm. As she cried and tumbled back, Harry fired twice more quickly at her chest, but she tripped and as she fell back, the bullets hit her shoulder instead. Harry took a step forward but that was as far as he got, Black Mamba swung her legs around knocked him to the ground. He dropped the gun and as he scrambled to after it, sent it skidding next to the fire.

Mamba and Harry rose at the same time and she ran to get it, clutching her arm. Harry dove for her legs and knocked her back to the ground, then rolled away to try and get to his feet first. He stood, weaving a bit in imbalance, only to see that he had knocked Black Mamba down right next to the gun. As she grabbed it and turned towards him time seemed to slow down.

'Come on Harry, you can get yourself out of this.' He thought frantically, 'If I dodge she'll just start hunting me so I need to get the gun back from her so I should… Fuck.' She was aiming, still lying on the ground. He had to do something right then, but could think of nothing.

"Argh!" Harry yelled and kicked the ground in frustration, then yelled "Fuck!" for the hundredth time as the campfire he'd just kicked caught his pant leg on fire.

Harry beat his leg out then realized that Black Mamba had also shouted. He had kicked the embers from the fire all across her body and she was now busy rolling the flames out. Harry ran forward and grabbed the gun as Black Mamba got up and ran. At first he thought she was trying to flee, but she stopped at a tree a few feet from the fire and yanked at the knife handle still stuck there.

Harry cursed and opened fire at her while running forward. She dropped in time to avoid the first bullets and ducked behind another tree. The knife was gone. Harry felt a twinge of panic, but kept his head. He too moved behind a tree.

After almost a half a minute's silence Harry poked his head around and scanned for any sign of the warrior lady. Nothing. He leaned a bit further out and thought he saw a flash of yellow moving between the trees.

Harry moved hurriedly a couple of trees further into the thicker growth, it seemed better to keep in motion. He listened carefully but still heard nothing. Suddenly there was snap behind him. Harry turned and fired but there was only a squirrel.

When he turned back she was a few feet in front of him. Before he could raise the gun Black Mamba stabbed her knife into his chest and wrenched the pistol from his hand. As he fell to the ground she fired three bullets into his skull.

* * *

Black Mamba stood for a moment, meditating on the fight. She shook her head and assured herself again that the man would have died soon anyway. At least she had given him a quick death.

"I truly am sorry. There should have been no reason for you to die." Black Mamba said quietly, closing Harry's eyes. Then she took the spare ammunition from his pockets and wrenched her knife out of his chest.

She put out the campfire, leaving the remains of the bird burnt past recognition in the ashes. As she set off once more for the split mountain peaks, she forced herself to think of B.B. and not the wasted life behind her.

**[A/N] I hope you enjoyed it. I wanted to get really into Harry's character, but didn't want to switch between povs, so let me know what you think of a battle from almost entirely the opponent's pov.**


	5. The Jedi Master

**Disclaimer: This fight's opponent is brought to you by Timothy Zahn, a guy who wrote fanfiction about George Lucas' Universe and got it published. Kudos to him. **

**[A/N] Visit Aelsthla Mental's profile to read their version of this match. **

**Black Mamba vs. Joruus C'Baoth**

**The Jedi Master**

The man sat quietly under a large tree with his eyes closed. Black Mamba had no delusions that his old age would give her an advantage. If she had forgotten the lethal technique of her ancient master, this man's long white beard and slightly Asiatic robes would have reminded herof Pai Mei. The man's meditative posture did nothing to ease her worries; she knew that meditation only enhanced one's senses. Since he was meditating in plain sight it was obvious that he thought himself capable of defeating any opponent that might attack him. He probably was. It was possible that he was already aware of her presence and if not, she had little time to act before he noticed her crouched in the bushes.

She drew the gun she'd taken from Harry and aimed it with the steady hand and eye of a trained assassin. She prayed for a quick kill and pulled the trigger. The shot cracked through the forest, but the bullet somehow missed the man as his eyes suddenly opened. In another second he was on his feet. Mamba's gun was torn from her hand and sent flying by an unseen force.

She ducked and rolled to the left to avoid further attacks but none came. Her hand hovered near her knife. She glanced in the direction her gun had flown and decided against drawing her only other weapon. She peered through the branches of the brush and found the man was staring directly at her. She flinched, then stepped out of the bush's shelter to meet his gaze, slowly moving into a beginner Kung Fu fighting stance. No need to let him know how proficient she was. She watched closely for information he would give away as he moved to fight her, but no preparation came.

Instead he said, "Stupid girl, you face your death with the confidence of the ignorant savage."

She returned to standing again, still ready to attack, and replied, "I'm learned in many areas and ignorant in far more. For instance, I'm ignorant of another way to get off this island except through you, but I'm willing to listen to suggestions. Got any?"

"As soon as you decided to fight me you death was decided. Defeating me would be the only way of escape but, you have no chance against a Jedi Master."

"We'll see about that." Black Mamba replied, jumping forward and double kicking to the Jedi's chest. The man moved swiftly out of harm's way, then side-stepped again as Mamba struck at him with a quick succession of tiger claw strikes. Next she tried crane hand strikes to his knee and solar plexus but he spun again out of the way.

The old man laughed. "You have no hope." He said whilst dodging her next succession of attacks. "Compared to me you are an insect."

Finally he had left himself open. Black Mamba jumped forward to strike his chest, just above the heart. She was thrown backwards against the ground before she came close to hitting. The man hadn't moves, but an invisible force had shoved her away from him.

The assassin stood and shook herself to clear her head. Then she launched at the old man again, trying to attack with even more rapid strikes and kicks to throw him off guard sooner. The Jedi continued to dodge gracefully out of harm's way, laughing every time she came close. Each time she found an opening the invisible force would throw her back again. She didn't know how he was controlling it, but soon realized that he was toying with her. The realization didn't help much. There was nothing she could do to get through the force, and if she let on that she knew he was playing he might move onto seriously fighting back. As hopeless as playing his game seemed, she would have even less chance to win once it was over.

For an eternity of futile efforts game stretched on. It felt like she was a fly banging repeatedly against a glass window with no idea where the opening was or if it even existed.

"You are like a pathetic animal trying to attack with nothing but its claws." The Jedi said scornfully. Finished with his game, he drew a small metal device from his belt. "Let's try something new."

Mamba jumped back a step, and looked with her peripheral vision for shelter while keeping the old man in her sights in case he threw what she assumed was a bomb. The metal cylinder thrummed and a blade of crackling white light appeared. The man swung his sword in an arc over his head and around to catch her in the side. Black Mamba dropped flat on the ground, the blade passing above her felt like a wave of raw energy. She swept her leg around to knock the Jedi over but he stepped quickly out of the way. Before she could get up he was bringing the energy sword down on her again. She rolled to the side and somersaulted into a standing position. He ran forward and swiped at her neck, but she managed to move out of the way before the sword hit. She snap kicked at his knee but missed as she tried to twist out of the way of another strike. The sword hit her shoulder and she cried out as the energy bit, burning into her skin. The Jedi raised the sword for another strike, but Black Mamba fought through the pain and moved to get a further distance between herself and the man. He continued to close in on her, twisting his sword to stop her from moving to far in any one direction.

Abandoning the plan to get away, Mamba crouched under the next sweep of the sword and stepped forward instead of back. She stood up quickly facing the Jedi nose to nose and head butted him as hard as she could. As he fell backward, she caught his hand holding the sword and twisted it sharply. He managed to stay on his feet and pushed her back with another blast of the force, but she successfully wrestled the sword from him and managed to keep hold of it.

As soon as the weapon left his hand, though, it went out. She chanced a look at it and tried to make it turn on again, but couldn't make it work. The Jedi laughed harshly.

"Did you think that someone like you could wield a lightsaber? Again ignorant one, I tell you that I am a _Jedi, _I control the Force. You can't even feel the Force! I alone know what true power is!"

Mamba backed up, but he didn't move to pursue her. She moved the lightsaber to her left hand and drew her knife with her right. She wanted a weapon she could actually use, but didn't want to discard the lightsaber since she was sure the Jedi could make it work again if he got it back.

Ignoring that his right hand was slightly out of alignment, the Jedi stretched his hands toward her. White-blue lightning burst from his hands and hit Black Mamba in the chest. She was knocked down and screamed as the energy tore through her body. Her hands convulsed to tightly grip the hilts of both weapons and her body twisted as she tried to escape the pain. Her eyes saw nothing except the brilliant light and her body felt like fire was flowing through her veins. She heard only the crackling of the raw power.

Finally it stopped. She lay panting on the ground for a few seconds before she thought to escape. Trying to rise, however, she found herself pinned by the Jedi's force. Her arms were pushed out to either side as the force pushed her entire body against the ground.

The Jedi was standing next to her and kneeled down now. "Can you hear me?" He asked. She glared in response. "Good." He continued, "I've seen that you are performing well in this tournament. It is unfortunate, and unforgivable, that you chose to challenge me. In the end, you are really no different from all of the other contestants here. Brute force is the only power you understand, you cannot begin to fathom the true depths that the mind can reach. Only the enlightened truly understand…"

She was losing focus. The pain was trying to push her into unconsciousness. The warm, healing embrace of sleep seemed the best thing in the world. Why not sleep? The pain already felt further away. She could almost feel the softness of cotton sheets around her. B.B. would be wrapped up in her arms and they would curl up in a warm ball of comfort.

Black Mamba's eyes fluttered open. "B.B." she whispered. She needed to get out of here and get back to her daughter. She needed to stop this man before he killed her and any chance she had at holding B.B. again. In her return to the present she was wrapped in a new determination and a certainty that she could win this, she felt an overwhelming confidence in her own power to survive and to win her freedom.

For one second, her will surged within her. For one second, the force pressing her into the dirt was pushed away. For one second, the lightsaber still clenched in her hand sputtered out the smallest beam of light.

The Jedi Master glared at the sword. "No-" He snarled.

With the speed of her namesake, Black Mamba dropped the lightsaber and snapped her hand forward to grab a handful of the Jedi's hair. She pulled his head roughly down and drove the blade of her knife through his forehead with a thick crunch.

The old man's eyes dimmed and he collapsed on top of her, crushing her into the dirt. Breathing harshly, Black Mamba squirmed out from under him and forced herself to sit up. She quickly ascertained that he was without a doubt dead, then retrieved the lightsaber and quickly checked his pockets. The Jedi had no other weapons, but she did find a small keycard that looked important.

Black Mamba retrieved her knife with some difficulty and frowned when she saw the blade had taken some severe damage. Of course, knives weren't meant to cut through bone regularly. She sighed and, after cleaning it of the blood, replaced it in her leg holster.

She remembered what he had said about her performance in the tournament. Could he have been working for BORED? Was it too much to hope that the key card would give her access to their base?

The only way to find out was to continue on.

**A/N: My apologies for being late. I hope that you enjoyed the fight though!**

**Let me know what you think.**


	6. A Darker Side

**Disclaimer: This fight's opponents are brought to you by Sega**

**[A/N] This is my extremely late fight scene for the Bride vs. Shadow vs. Robotnik. Both of my opponents managed to get there fights in within the time limit and this should definitely be taken into consideration when judging. **

**I think there might be a disjuncture in timelines since I move from the Bride's fight with Joruus pretty much straight to her fight with this lot. I thought about posting the first bit as an intermission chapter but it moves straight from there to the fight so I decided to just leave it together. If you want to skip it just go to the line of periods and read from there. I'm sure a fair amount happened between the shield coming down and this fight for the rest of the characters in this tournament, but let's just give a nod to the timey-wimey ball and move onward. **

**Visit Avatarjk137 and Clement Rage's profiles for their versions of this fight. They're both really good writer**

**Black Mamba vs. Shadow vs. Robotnik**

A Darker Side

Black Mamba continued her trek up the mountain, stopping to rest in a cave only after she had moved a good distance from her fallen opponent. She worried that if she remained too close to the scene of battle another fighter would attack her, finding Harry's gun had already taken longer than she was comfortable with, and she wanted a moment to catch her breath before resuming.

After examining the Jedi's lightsaber for some time, she found an out of the way mechanism near the base of the metal cylinder. Turning the switch caused a long beam of pure white light to grow instantly from the hilt, startling Mamba so much that she almost dropped the weapon. She didn't know whether the switch had been jostled when she stole the saber from the Jedi or if Joruus had used his force to turn it off, but either way it was working now.

The lightsaber was awkward to wield though. Making her strokes move how she wanted was difficult because the energy blade was weightless, so all of the mass was in the hilt. The lightsaber weighed much less than any sword Black Mamba had wielded before and something was rotating within the hilt, throwing her further off balance. It felt like the sword was trying to yank out of her hands every other second. Still it was a powerful sword and the best weapon she currently owned.

Going through a few sword kata with the lightsaber, Black Mamba was able to find some adjustments to her fighting style to better fit the sword's temperament and grew slightly more used to its alieness. She found that larger, swooping strikes allowed her to direct the weapon better and were easy to maneuver because of the light weight. Closer, precise movements were much harder to control but still moved quickly. She figured that she could get off three times as many attacks as normal if she didn't worry about striking exact locations. Though she probably wouldn't be able to hit exact targets even if she wielded the lightsaber slower and more focused, the rotation in the hilt was too hard to compensate for.

Suddenly the cave shook and some rocks broke loose from the ceiling. Black Mamba hurried outside to see the shield over the island cascading down. She shut off the lightsaber after checking for nearby contestants and returned it to her hip. She didn't really understand the weapon yet, but she couldn't afford to waste more time practicing. She hoped she hadn't wasted too much already.

Black Mamba contemplated going back to the shore of the island and escaping, but she couldn't be sure that there would be anything to escape in. She was also nearly at the top of the mountain, versus at least a day's journey from the ocean. Hopefully she would be able to find some way off the island at the top of the mountain or at least get a better view of what new madness was happening.

………………………………………………………………….

Black Mamba picked her steps carefully. The floor was covered in blood and dead thugs. The wounds were inconsistent. Some of the thugs looked like they had been run over by a vehicle but others had gunshot or sword wounds. There hadn't been just one fight here; it looked like this corridor had seen a few battles. Still, it wasn't as strange as the first one.

It had been easy to spot the door in the mountainside and just as simple to get in with the golden card she'd taken from the Jedi. Without the card, however, it would have been impossible to open the door and it was too sturdy to knock down so Mamba assumed BORED was going for stability more than camouflage. She had been expecting a barrage of thugs to attack once she got inside, but instead she found only two dead bodies. Well, she had assumed they were dead; it was hard to tell because they were both covered in dark chocolate. There were smudges of chocolate on the floor, the walls, and even the ceiling. It was as if a flood of chocolate had run through the passage, but it was odd that only a few traces had been left behind.

Black Mamba shivered at the memory. It had only been chocolate, but it was just so… creepy. And then there was the look on the thugs faces. Cries for help forever frozen in chocolate. She had hurried away from that scene. Yes, the current amount of gore and blood was much more familiar to Mamba.

Something black zipped quickly around the corner she was approaching. It blurred past her at a high enough speed to blow her hair back. She turned quickly to see if it would stop or continue away. It stopped.

Mamba bit back a laugh when she saw that it was a large, black cartoonish creature with huge eyes and spikes on its head. The thing was an impossibility; it didn't even look like an animal from earth. It looked like one of B.B.'s stuffed toys, but Mamba knew better than to let her guard down for anything on this island. Harry's gun was ready in her hand, but she raised it defensively before herself, ready for an attack.

"You're not supposed to be in here, Kiddo." The thing, which looked vaguely like a hedgehog, sounded annoyed. After a few seconds of open mouthed disbelief that the animal was talking, Black Mamba worried about how it, no he (it sounded male), how he knew her name. Maybe he was working with BORED, either way it would be prudent to attack first and ask questions later.

Unfortunately in the 15 seconds it took Mamba to piece this together the black animal grew tired of waiting for a response and ran forward at an incredible speed to kick her squarely in the chest. Black Mamba turned her backward momentum into a roll and ended in a crouched position. She immediately fired her gun at the attacker, but he dodged it easily. The hedgehog ran behind her and Mamba was barely able to turn and face him before he jumped forward and up and tucked into a spinning blur. She tried to dodge as the blur rammed into her, but he still clipped her head and sent her to the floor. Mamba swung her legs around and quickly regained her feet. She didn't wait to figure out where the hedgehog was but leapt to the nearest wall and placed her back against it. The black speed demon had started to attack her old position but realized swiftly realized what Mamba was doing and stopped. The assassin fired two shots at the hedgehog, he dodged the first and the second grazed his arm, but the hedgehog only winced as he pulled out his own gun. It was bigger than Mamba's and looked like it packed a much more powerful punch.

"I hope you're ready for this." The Hedgehog said, smiling.

The entire base was filled with rumbling noises from various fights, machinery workings, and the volcano beneath it. This is why, in the heat of battle, neither of the highly skilled fighters heard the slightly increasing rumble of the ATV that now burst down the hallway towards them.

Both fighters were distracted by the new arrival; the hedgehog forgot to fire his gun and Mamba didn't think to take the opportunity to move out of range. Driving the ATV was the strangest looking man Black Mamba had ever seen. He would be the strangest looking _anything_ she'd seen if it weren't for the fact that she was currently being held up by a giant, talking hedgehog. The man had a fearsome face with angry red eyes and a wild orange moustache. His pointy head was bald and his body was extremely round and overweight. He wore a dark green metallic armor that looked like it was roughly pieced together. His ATV was splattered with blood and the wheels had bits of flesh stuck to them.

On seeing the two fighters the man stopped his ATV with a suddenness Mamba found impressive for all the gore slicking its wheels. He stood up partway in his seat to get a better look, squinting his eyes at the Hedgehog.

"Shadow?" He asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Hello Doctor." Shadow the hedgehog replied, "I'm afraid you've picked the wrong direction. Unless, of course, you were looking for a fight old foe."

"Why fight now?" Robotnik asked. Mamba slunk slowly sideways along the wall as the two talked. "We have a better chance of getting out of here together, we can fight all we want when we get home."

Shadow shook his head. "I'm not a contestant Robotnik, I'm working for BORED to make sure contestants like you and…" He looked around and spotted Mamba moving away. She dove for the cover of some discarded machinery but he fired a shot and it bit into her side. "that one don't cause any trouble."

"Damn." Mamba breathed as she curled her legs underneath herself. "What the hell are you guys?"

Robotnik gave an indignant grunt, but it was aimed at Shadow. "If you're working with BORED why didn't they invite me as well? Surely I would be just as valuable to them."

"I have no idea." Shadow said, Mamba noted that he was keeping one eye on her now. She stood up anyway, wanting to be on her feet for the next attack. "This is enough chat though," The Hedgehog continued, "I need to take care of you both before someone else comes along."

Shadow ran quickly along the wall and jumped over Robotnik's vehicle, firing his gun. Robotnik raised his left arm over his face for cover and fired back with his own gun. The bullets Shadow fired ricocheted off of the doctor's armor without denting the material. Whatever it was made of was a powerful substance.

Shadow finished his flight and pushed off the wall he landed against to use his spin attack against the doctor. Black Mamba ran forward while they were fighting. She was tempted to hang back and hope one finished the other off, but she knew little about either opponent and was skilled at fighting multiple people at once. She had faced much greater numbers before, and those had all been focused on her. She briefly considered asking Robotnik for an alliance, but the crazy scientist vibe he gave off didn't inspire much confidence.

Robotnik was rapid firing at Shadow, now with a rifle mounted to the front of his ATV. The hedgehog zigzagged to the side avoid the bullets. Mamba aimed for Robotnik's exposed head and fired. At that moment he was shot in the chest by one of Shadows bullets. The armor held, but the power from the bullet rocked him back enough that Mamba's shot missed his head by inches. Robotnik turned to see where the other shot had come from and on seeing the assassin running at him, swung his gun around to shoot at her. Mamba dropped into a roll and came up right on the side of the ATV. For now she was out of range of either fighter and used the advantage to shoot the closest tire. The bullet sunk into the rubber but the wheel appeared to be too thick to be punctured completely. Before she could try to damage the ATV more, a shot whizzed past her head from above. Mamba ran to the back of the ATV, but Shadow must have seen her, or was just lucky, and he met her there. His shot hit Mamba's left shoulder. She snap kicked at him, but the pain made her aim off and she missed badly. As she and Shadow prepared their next attacks a shot from Robotnik's handgun hit the floor between them.

Shadow turned to face the Doctor and grabbed the largest emerald Black Mamba had ever seen from the bandolier slung across his chest. Shadow held the emerald and shouted "Chaos Spear!" just like they did for attacks in cartoons. Even after making this observation, Mamba was still caught off guard when a bolt of energy burst from the gem and slammed into Robotnik. The man was knocked back into the controls for the ATV. He grabbed them and revved the machine into reverse. Mamba and Shadow both dove to the right of the vehicle as it shot backwards. Mamba was the first one up and noticed that Shadow had knocked a door open with his dive. Robotnik was turning the ATV around; the engine at this range was much louder than the rest of the buildings rumbles. It roared menacingly and Mamba hurried through the doorway after the hedgehog clutching her side with her good arm. The pain from the bullet was starting to numb, but Mamba still felt off on the left side. Shadow was just regaining his feet, but Mamba wasn't paying attention to him. She had just realized they were sitting on a landing in the middle of a large metal stairwell spiraling upwards and down. This was infinitely better than the closet she had expected to be stuck in. As Shadow shook his head clear, Black Mamba ran past him and up the stairs. She didn't care if the loud clanging of the metal told her opponents where she was going because this direction would force Robotnik to abandon his ATV, and she doubted the fat doctor would be in shape to handle fighting on his own feet.

Shadow followed and soon surpassed the assassin with his super speed and stopped in front of her on the fourth landing holding his emerald in one hand and his gun in the other. They both raised their guns simultaneously and stared each other down for a second before Robotnik's ATV rammed into the base of the staircase. The steel stairs shook, but held firmly against the vehicle. Mamba grabbed the railing for support but kept her eyes locked on Shadow's after glancing down. Robotnik's cursing and moving the mechanisms of the ATV could be hear faintly over the engine as it continued rumbling, but neither opponent looked down again. Mamba decided to move first. She worried that she wouldn't be able to dodge the hedgehog's speed if she waited. She held her gun steady and pulled the trigger, which clicked. It clicked again as she pulled the trigger once more and Shadow smiled as they both realized she was out of bullets. Mamba ducked as Shadow fired. She threw the gun at Shadow's face and drew Joruus' lightsaber. Shadow casually swatted the gun out of its path toward his face before realizing that the assassin had already rearmed herself. The White energy of the lightsaber thrummed in the air, Mamba gripped the handle ready to charge forward.

Suddenly Robotnik exploded up out of the opening in the middle of the stairwell, riding a flying chair that must have been incorporated with the ATV. Shadow raced to the next landing and fired alternately at Mamba and Robotnik from his new vantage point. Robotnik simply maneuvered the chair in an erratic pattern to avoid the fire, but Mamba had trouble dodging the shots in the cramped stairway. She waited until a point when Robotnik was well overhead and jumped across the gap to land on the lower stairs where Shadow would have more trouble aiming at her.

Robotnik returned fire on shadow from two guns built into his chair. The hedgehog yelled "Chaos Spear!" holding the emerald and sent another bolt of the strange energy at Robotnik. It rocked the bald man's chair into one of the railings but did only superficial damage. Shadow jumped onto the chair and punched Robotnik in the face. Robotnik caught the fighter's arms and tried to wrestle him off of the chair, but Shadow had the advantage of being on top. Their chair wobbled with the extra weight, but maintained its lift. Mamba took this chance to run back up the stairs towards her two foes.

When she had almost reached their level, Robotnik let go of one of Shadows arms and punched him in the throat. Shadow gasped for air and was phased enough for Robotnik to toss him overboard. The hedgehog grabbed the railing of the stairs as he fell and spun around to attack Robotnik again. He'd dropped the gun catching himself, but still held the giant emerald. He stood on the railing and shouted "Chaos Blast!" sending a shockwave out in all directions. Robotnik and Mamba were knocked into the far wall. Robotnik was knocked further and cracked the wall where his chair hit, Mamba was only thrown a few feet before she hit the wall but had the wind knocked out of her and was sure she'd bruised a few ribs. She shook her blond hair, now dirty with sweat and grime, from her face and then turned to face Robotnik. The doctor had just managed to free himself from the wall by leaning all his weight on the controls. His chair rocked unsteadily for a minute as it stabilized and Mamba took that opportunity to swing her lightsaber down at Robotnik's head. He saw her at the last minute and turned the chair sharply. The energy beam of the lightsaber crackled as it missed Robotnik and slammed into the railing.

As Robotnik swung his chair back around he drew a metal cylinder that looked uncomfortably familiar to Mamba. The doctor grinned as his own lightsaber, this one a bright red color, hissed to life and he prepared to attack. A second electric hiss sounded behind Mamba and as she turned halfway she saw that Shadow had replaced his emerald and drawn his own energy sword, also with a red beam although this one looked vaguely different from the other two lightsabers.

"So much for the advantage." Mamba sighed. She was in about the worst position she could imagine at this point, right between the two skilled fighters one in a flying chair and the other with super speed. The assassin gritted her teeth and held the sword steadily, upright in her hands with her knees bent and ready to spring in any direction.

Shadow and Robotnik both went for her at the same time. Sweeping their swords down in wide arcs they rushed Black Mamba. She bent backwards until she felt like her spine was going to snap and pushed up with her lightsaber. The white light crackled angrily under each of the red beams as the three swords met. Mamba only tried to hold them off for a second before pushing up and to the side with a burst of strength sending herself spinning sideways and her opponents off balance.

Mamba regained her feet while Robotnik and Shadow still had their swords pressed together and where circling slowly. They broke apart and Robotnik swung his sword high to hit Shadow's head, Shadow dropped low to attack the doctor's ankles. He hit the base off the chair instead, which fizzled indignantly, but the power of the strike sent it spinning out over the empty space in the middle of the stair well once again. Black Mamba saw an opportunity and decided to make what seemed like one of the stupidest leaps in her life. Pushing off of the railing with one foot, the assassin flung herself through the air onto Robotnik's chair.

"What the hell?" Then doctor shouted as Mamba collided with his chair, knocking it further into the space. The hedgehog stood watching, looking uncertain of whether he should attack as well or wait.

Mamba held onto the chair tightly and dug her lightsaber into the back of it. The energy beam and the wiring of the chair fizzled and buzzed. Even as Robotnik grabbed her leg, Mamba pressed the saber sideways. It melted the chair slowly, but it only took an inch for a small explosion to rupture the chair's mechanics. Just as she achieved the sabotage, however, Mamba felt the burning of Robotnik's lightsaber against her thigh. It burned her skin even though the energy sword was soon knocked loose by the chair's plummet down as its circuits failed. Mamba pulled her own saber free and abandoned ship for the closest railing. Robotnik tried to grab her ankle as she jumped, but it barely slipped out of his grasp. Robotnik's scream of rage followed Mamba as she slammed into the railing. She managed to keep Joruus' lightsaber as she scrambled over the metal bar.

She looked back over the railing in time to see the crash. Robotnik's red eyes were visible for a moment as he tried to free himself before the chair crashed onto the floor on top of him. The impact from both sides crushed Robotnik's body between his armor plates. His head cracked open when it hit floor and blood sprayed from Robotnik's joints and head, painting the floor like a grotesque modern art. His lightsaber lay crackling nearby, the red energy burning the bright red blood into a curling black smoke.

"Well that is one scrambled Eggman." Shadow tsked, Mamba looked up to see the fighter leaning over the railing one flight above her. "Rest in peace, doc." The hedgehog said and then returned his attention to Mamba. "I had hoped to end him myself, but there's nothing to be done about that now. Of course, this means it's your turn."

Black Mamba squared her shoulders and cracked her neck. "I guess you'd better get down here then." She said calmly.

Shadow smiled grimly and jumped down to Mamba's level. The assassin backed away and raised her sword defensively as Shadow descended. The hedgehog grabbed the railing and then flipped smoothly over it. He landed with his stance grounded and his sword ready. Mamba continued to back away until she found the door out to the current floor. She opened it and chanced a glance out. This corridor was as deserted as the others, which was to say, riddled with corpses.

"I'm a bit tired of the stairs." She explained to the hedgehog as she backed through the door. Shadow shrugged and followed her. Once through the door Mamba kept a healthy distance from Shadow. She was still slightly out of breath from the fall and was hoping for a moment to catch it. Shadow appeared to have other plans and immediately went for an attack, bringing his sword around for a low attack at her shins. The assassin jumped over the strike and spun around to counter attack at her opponents head. Shadow blocked and as the blades collided Mamba nearly lost her balance forgetting that she wouldn't need as much weight behind the block as with a normal sword. She recovered her balance with a clumsy step, but made a successful block against Shadow's next attack, this one high. She pushed away from his sword and turned her arms to thrust her saber forward, bending the front knee to keep her stance low and stable. Shadow brought his saber roughly down on her attack, sending her sword to the floor. Mamba kept pressure on his sword as she parried her own up in an arc until both sabers were in front of them. Then she launched a powerful side kick to Shadow's stomach, causing him to take a couple steps back. Mamba swept her lightsaber up over her head and, stepping after Shadow, struck down with a loud kiai. Shadow blocked and deflected the strike with his own sword held horizontally in front of his forehead. He then attacked with another horizontal attack aimed for Black Mamba's torso, forcing her to drop into a low stance on one knee to avoid being cut in half. He swung his red sword up, over his head and stabbed down to her leg. Mamba had started a roll out of the way as soon as she'd dropped and so just escaped the attack. She rose to her feet in time to knock the hedgehog's second vertical strike to the side so that his saber bit into the wall. However, it only took a second to extract the weapon and the two fighters were soon circling each other, ready for the next move.

Mamba knew that Shadow was much faster than herself, but she couldn't find a way even the field. She kept her eyes open as they slowly moved down the passage way. There were a few crates of weapons in this corridor, but Mamba didn't have time to shop for a gun fast enough to hit Shadow while running. Shadow swung his sword around for yet another strike at Mamba's head, but she blocked it and counter struck low. Shadow easily and quickly blocked the attack and shoved Mamba backwards with the force of it. The assassin suspected it was only her instinct in swordsmanship from years of hard training that allowed her to block Shadow's speedy attacks. Her head ached from the concentration of reading her opponent and predicting the next moves.

Though he would probably outlast her in the endurance of the battle, Shadow appeared to be growing annoyed with the current exchange of blows as well. After they had exchanged another two attacks, both ending in successful blocks, he jumped back and drew out his emerald of chaos once more. Mamba cursed and tried to run away, hoping that it wouldn't strike her as powerfully. But almost as soon as she heard the yell of "Chaos Blast!" behind her, Mamba was thrown from her feet and blasted fifteen feet down the corridor. If that wasn't the full effect of the blast, Mamba hoped she never felt the attack from close range. She heard Shadow yell again and pressed herself against the wall to avoid the bolt of energy that was his Chaos Spear. As it crackled past her, Mamba failed to hear the hedgehog's third yell and as she moved from the wall she was hit in the side by a second Chaos Spear and knocked into a large metal drum. As soon as she realized what she'd fallen against, Mamba was wide awake though. She had no idea why BORED would have an oil drum in their headquarters, unless maybe she was getting close to an aircraft hangar. That would really make her day, but for now she was just worried about the present. She new Shadow would be running to catch up with her at any moment, but she couldn't afford to make stupid mistakes. She didn't know whether the laser of Joruus' lightsaber would react with oil or not, so she switched it off to be safe. She quickly drew her knife and struck it harshly against the cap on the drum. As the cap came off, the blade of her knife broke into pieces. A Chaos Spear passed just over her head as Mamba heaved the barrel onto its side and let the oil flood out across the floor. She looked up to see that the blur of black that was Shadow had almost reached her. In another second he reached the oil and his momentum sent him flying past her as his feet slipped out from under him. Black Mamba kissed the hilt of her now broken knife. The weapon had taken a lot of abuse this tournament, but it had never failed her.

Shadow, aided by a nice coating of oil on his stomach had slid all the way through an open doorway. Mamba chased after him and realized that they had indeed reached the hangar; she and Shadow were now on a narrow catwalk with no railings about a story above several large jets and helicopters. Shadow now stood to face her. The assassin didn't wait for his attack but swiftly restarted the lightsaber and moved forward with two wide horizontal strikes. The Shadow blocked the first and dodged the second, but as he moved his feet residual oil on his shoes caused him to slip backwards more than he appeared to intend to. He struck forward with his lightsaber to keep Mamba at bay, but seemed reluctant to move his feet more than necessary.

"That wasn't a bad move Kiddo," He smirked, "but I'll still get you."

"Ah so," The assassin said quietly, "you are a true fighter to the end."

She struck again in a quick succession from a Kung Fu sword kata. The movements were clumsy with the difference in sword weight, but Mamba wasn't worried about accuracy now, she just needed to trip the hedgehog up. Shadow managed block and parry the first few attacks and struck out with some counter attacks that Mamba had to improvise blocks for. On her fifth attack Shadow feinted a counter and came around on the other side landing a strike on her right upper arm. Mamba cursed but she stayed focused and charged Shadow for her next move. He slipped on his oily feet as he moved out of the sword's path and almost fell off the catwalk, but caught a supporting wire and landed with the bulk of his body still on the narrow space. Black Mamba swooped her sword around to strike. Shadow tried to block it with his own sword but was at an awkward angle and had to fight to keep from falling over the edge.

Black mamba thought she had missed him at first when she felt little resistance in her strike. Then Shadow cried out sharply in pain and Mamba saw that his lightsaber and the hand holding it were missing. As his hand and sword fell to the floor below, some arteries that hadn't been fully cauterized by the heat sent spews of blood from the stump now at the end of Shadows wrist.

Shadow glared at Mamba as he clenched his teeth against the pain. The assassin stared coldly back at him. As soon as the hedgehog moved she brought her lightsaber down into his chest. It broke through his sternum with a little effort and reached his heart. Shadow died instantly and the crackling of Joruus' lightsaber sounded just like Robotnik's had in his blood. As she realized that Shadow's flesh was starting to cook, Black Mamba pulled the energy sword free and turned it off.

Shadow's hand had convulsed on the wire when she struck him, but now it went slack and Shadow's corpse slipped off the edge of the catwalk, down to the floor of the hangar. Mamba watched it fall and even heard the quiet thud it made as it hit the ground. Some workers that had been watching the fight from the ground rushed over to see what was left of the body. Some pointed up at the catwalk while others ran to a radio, hurriedly relaying the information.

Mamba calmly walked across the catwalk and found another doorway. There was no one in this hallway either… yet. She needed to find a separate way to sneak into the hangar now that she had been seen. She hoped that she ran into one of the BORED leaders though. It didn't feel right to leave without punishing the ones responsible from separating her from her daughter.

She had eliminated the last two obstacles fairly quickly. There were only a few more to go now -just a few more obstacles to get out of the way before she got back to B.B.

**[A/N] I wasn't able to research all that Robotnik's chair is supposed to do thoroughly. My apologies if I got anything wrong. **

**I didn't mean to make Robotnik's role so much smaller than Shadow's in this, it just kind of happened. It took a lot longer to finish off Shadow than I expected… **

**Cutting off Shadow's hand is meant to be a tribute to the Star Wars trilogy. It felt right to include it what with everyone wielding lightsabers. It's also supposed to symbolize the dark side of the Bride that this tournament is bringing back out. **

**Of course, I wish the best of luck to my opponents!**


End file.
